(Before Issue 8)
'What are you thinking Eric? You nervous?'
Eric suddenly stops his deep thinking as he turns to Ray who calls him with his communication telepathy. They are now before the thirteenth portal as they wait for the rebels' arrival.
It was only two days earlier that Grantaire announced that the rebel forces are ready to transfer to Earth. Eric and Ray decided that the large abandoned barn with a huge snowy pasture would be a good location to hold a hundred rebels.
"Don't know why you communicated through mind but I'm not nervous." Eric replies. "Seems like you're enjoying your time" Eric points out to Ray's comic book on hand.
"I didn't have the weekend to read this because were in Meridian." Ray explains as he continues to read. "And tomorrow, I need to give this back to Rod, and I've just read only a few pages of '2020: the Odyssey of Space'!"
"Looks like an old comic book, a famous space theater classic I presume?" Eric glances it. "I heard it's based on a movie back in 1980s?"
"Yeah, but Rod and I can't find a CD or DVD of it in the stores. So I just have to read it instead." Ray replies. "So what are you thinking about?"
"Nah, just thinking what Nigel told us about Zagan." Eric replies. The day after Grantaire's announcement, Nigel then suddenly remembered what happened when he fought Zagan, especially on what he said about Elyon. He talked and reported to Eric during their usual night shift.
"Oh that…" Ray replies as he still continues to read. "He even left the details on how he did that large explosion of his or even what triggered him."
"She might be in trouble for all we know." Eric replies. "Are you not concerned for Elyon here?
"Well I know you are. Heck! You never had the chance to say and intimate good-bye to her and returned her pendant!" Ray replies teasingly.
"I was, but we were caught up with these different situations that I didn't have the time to return it to her." Eric replies annoyingly. "And do you really have to describe 'intimate' for a simple good-bye?"
"I think you just have to stay calm, Eric." Ray says. "Her coronation is a few weeks from now, and I think there's still time to uncover Phobos' plans. But now, we have a hundred men in our hands now to train."
"You're right I guess." Eric says. "But I should just leave it to Grantaire when he gets here."
"Leave me what?" a voice comes out from the portals as a walking lizard creature crawls out from the portal. Like a visitor he inspects the grim and dingy barn.
"Grantaire, good to see you again" Ray says as he keeps his book away. "I'm sorry this isn't a good settlement that you wanted to expect. We don't have the materials to build this place on time." Ray describes the worn out barn with holes on the roofs and walls as light goes through it.
"That could be arranged." He says as he bends down to the ground and draws a large mandala circle on the dirt. "You should wear your hoods, they're coming just anytime now." He says as the Eric and Ray wear the hoods of their legionate uniforms.
"Is this the place, Grantaire?" a voice says as a group of Meridianites enter the barn through the portal. "What smell!" "We're going to live here?" "Are we at the right place?" says of murmurs of rebels.
"Mayday" Ray whispers to Eric. "Incoming bad reception"
"Yes you are." Grantaire replies as he a mandala circle from the ground brightens as an aura of light extends itself throughout the barn. "We just need a bit of renovation." He says as the debris lifts into the air and places itself to its original place. Rusting metal changes into shiny silver. Decaying lumber turns into varnished and painted wood. Shattering pieces of glass were also returned to their respective window sills. Sinking of mud and dirt were returned to its former elevation deep to the ground. Standing post forms into horse stables once again as the large doors hooks and establishes itself to be workable again. After minutes of major yet quick changes, the barn was as new as good.
The rebels who continuously come in and the two boys stand in awe in their surroundings and when the spell was done the large mandala circle below them disappears. Amazed and impressed by his magic, Ray whistles lengthy. "Wow! Grantaire, this was unexpected. Thanks for such a place!"
"If it's for the rebels and for you boys, I'm at your service anytime." Grantaire bows.
"Yet somehow I have never seen this magic of yours before." Eric flips through the pages of his leather spell book.
"It's not on there, Atlas." Grantaire points out. "This is an original. I called it "Time Restoration" it restores any object as time flies backward and stops within a certain period of time. It was my thesis back then to become a Master of the Magical Circles."
"Master of the Magical Circles?" Eric asks as he keeps his book away. "Isn't that the highest form of training that a legionate must achieved to become a master of magic? We should call you master then?"
"It's but a long, long time ago now. Besides, I didn't always use my skills as a master just as recently, just Grantaire is fine." Grantaire explains humbly.
"Sir Grantaire." An approaching intimidated galhot calls his name and interrupts their conversation. "Where should we stay for the meantime?"
Grantaire looks to Eric. "Let your captain, tell you what to do." He pats Eric's shoulder and pushes him forward to the front of the crowd.
"Oh—me!...umm.." Eric stutters he moves two steps forward, clears his throat and calls their attention. "Everyone!" his call then brings the silence across the barn.
"S-Since we can't be exposed for a while." Eric stutters. "I guess you just have to stay here for the meantime within this settlement…I guess…And a-also be sure to tell the rest who just came in! Thank you!" He then looks at Ray if there are things if he forgets, but replies to him with a shrug on the shoulders.
"Nice speech right there." Ray teasingly jokes as he elbows his arm.
"You do know I hate public speaking unlike you." Eric replies annoyingly. "If you want I could relinquish my Atlas title to yours."
"Hey, where not going there this time." Ray recalls about Eric's 'unworthiness'. "You're the captain of your unit so you should lead them."
Eric sighs heavily as he sees the rebels settle in to the sides of the barn and observes them. "These men of yours have they been trained before, Grantaire?"
"They're new recruits from Jolras' Corps a few days ago. Most of them, I believe are farmers and peasants near the Sanctuary." Grantaire explains. "It's a good thing too we were not spotted by the soldiers when we went to that abandoned store house where the portal is sheltered."
"Do we have enough space to hold the needed men?" Ray butts-in as more and more Meridianites enter the barn as they get rowdier and rowdier.
"I told them to bring tents just in case, but it appears as if you can't fit all the soldiers in the barn when you train them here." Grantaire notices. "This is actually the first batch, seventy-five of rebels who crossed the portal. The catastrophe is irreparable if more than a hundred men pass through that portal, such as the earthquake that happened between our worlds."
Suddenly, Eric phone rings. He then shoves his phone out to his pocket and he sees the screen as it flashes on the name 'Nigel'. He clicks the button to open the message and reads in all caps 'URGENT CALL ME'.
"Sorry, but I have to take this. Nigel's calling me." Eric says and places his hand on Ray's shoulder as he contacts Nigel. "Handle our visitors will you?"
"M-me?" Ray complains. "Why me?"
"Captain's orders!" Eric sarcastically commands as he run-walks away from the noisy crowd. He places the phone on his ears. "Hey Nigel, what is it?" he calls as Nigel answers the phone.
Ray annoyingly and irritatingly sighs. "Aye aye captain." He agrees sarcastically as he manages the incoming rebels into the barn.
"I just came to report about something huge—very huge in fact." Nigel explains in his static voice trough the phone.
"What huge?" Eric asks as he continuous to walk away from the barn and across the snowy pasture.
"May I ask again why we don't have to check the portal under the subway?"
"I don't know what you're coming out of it or we already told you." Eric replies. "But to sum up, as we were leaving the Meridian with you on the stretcher, Vathek told to Ray and I that the Guardians closed the portal before they went back to Earth, leaving the ground barren. The usual, we decided to guard what was left of the active portals than the closed ones. If you liked to ask on how I know it was the subway underground portal that was closed without inspection is because of all the active portals left, not a single one of them was closed and untouched and that's how we concluded it."
"Yeah yeah I got that!" Nigel replies. "But I still surely think we should have inspected it days ago."
Eric puzzled continues to listen further. "What do you mean by that?"
"I became suspicious so I secretly went to the deserted room of the underground. What I found was a large somewhat ancient building! So large that I never understood how such a structure could fit inside the underground! It seems like a palace of some sort." Nigel exclaims.
'Wait! Could it be…' Eric surprisingly thinks to himself. "Is this serious? You're not joking right?"
"If I were Ray, I should have."
Eric sighs and after seconds of a long silence replies "I'll meet you there in as fast as I can. Just stay there and don't let anyone enter."
"Alright." Nigel agrees and hangs up his cellphone.
Eric ponders the situation and turns around back to the barn, but his body jerks to a shock as he feels the goosebumps and hair rises from his skin, when behind him is a lizard creature only a meter away from him. "Woah!—Grantaire! You surprised me!" he heavily breathes.
"Oh! Did I scare you?" Grantaire asks
"Well, you should not have done that and creep silently from my back." Eric says as he slowly recovers from the shock.
"Aren't I Grantaire, user of Erebo and Shadow of Attacks? You do know I always creep in the shadows." Grantaire hisses teasingly.
Eric chuckles. "Yes I do know that. So why have you came here? It's freezing outside." Eric and Grantaire then walk back to the barn.
"I was thinking if we could cut down the number of soldiers to the first batch and leave the rest to us." Grantaire says. "The barn is too cramped if we add more rebels. I think it's best if you handle what we you have here and besides, the war will be almost over if Elyon becomes queen."
"But what happens if she becomes liker her brother?" Eric asks as he recalls Caleb's words about Elyon.
"Have ye little faith." Grantaire expresses. "An informant from Phobos' castle says that Elyon still has a hard time on finding the truth, she's beginning to go up against Cedric's decisions too. So I must say, I do hope peace will come by when—"
"But what if there is someone conspiring against her from becoming queen?" Eric suddenly cuts him off and stops to walk as he recalls. Grantaire notices his sudden reaction and rotates around to see him.
"Pardon?" Grantaire asks confusingly.
"When Nigel fought and was forced to yield to Zagan, he told the same thing you said to me." Eric puts his finger on his chin as he thinks. "'There is no reason to fight when Elyon becomes queen.' But what Zagan replies to him as Nigel recalls is enquote, 'But do you really think that pathetic Elyon would become queen?'"
"What are you implying?" Grantaire hisses irately. "Phobos even announced it himself that he will step down to make her queen. Her coronation is only a few weeks from now!"
Eric gulps to Grantaire's controlled anger but still remains his composure. "T-Theory. I think Phobos is not to be trusted. I don't think he's not willingly eager to relinquish his crown just for his sister. From Zagan's own words, I believe Phobos and his men are trying to conspire a scheming plot against Elyon." Eric continues his theory. "I don't think Elyon is not the problem, but if she truly opens her eyes, then she becomes prey to her older brother."
Grantaire quickly grasps Eric shirt and he threatens him. "Do you understand how long I've waited for peace to return since the day I was born?! Are you saying that it is again impossible in Meridian?! Is that it? Maybe your colleague of yours just dreams of it!"
Eric, frightened and intimidated though only inches in height, replies. "I-It's just a theory Grantaire. I-I may be pessimistic and may have hurt your feelings, but I don't want to regret that I didn't speak up my mind before it's too late that it did truly happened."
Grantaire grits his wide teeth and out of desperation, he calms down and lets his shirt go. "I-I'm sorry, Atlas. I shouldn't have done that." He apologizes.
"All I'm asking is to consider my theory." Eric replies and continues to walk to the barn. "That's what Ray and I have been discussing when you arrived."
"Is that it?" Grantaire follows him. "So you really do need to train the rest of the hundred rebels then, so how can be that possible if you the barn cannot handle the needed space? Even if we place a magical curtain around the snowy pasture is not enough for training."
"Grantaire, if I may ask, how many minutes does it take for us to get through that portal and journey to the other portal in Meridian to go back to Earth?" Eric asks.
"Well, it's only an hour of walking from here to the next nearest portal. Why do you ask?"
"Because it would take me three hours to the next town in Heatherfield, and it would be much faster if we travel through portals and I would like you to come with me as well." Eric replies.
(Before Issue 8)
As Ray handled the rebels back at the barn, Eric and Grantaire reenter the portal to Meridian and travel to where another portal redirects them back to Earth. As they land on Heatherfield Observatory, they once again discretely under the snowing darkness Grantaire blends in with the shadows as Eric in his thick jacket, journey once more to the underground subway, where Nigel awaits for their arrival.
"Why this is—the queen's rest house! It's true then!" Grantaire exclaims as his eyes wander to the familiar large structure on front of him as he enters the deserted room. "Is this why you brought me here?"
"It is." Eric agrees as he removes the hood from his jacket and shockingly too gazes at the magnificent structure.
"So this is really the rest house you're talking about, huh." Nigel says as they approach the building. "I should've seen this sooner before the portal occurred."
"So when the large portal was created, this huge building sank to this very spot. This may be the reason why an earthquake occurred on both of our worlds on the same time." Eric concludes.
"I don't think that was the only reason." Grantaire says as he approaches and enters the building, Nigel and Eric soon follows inside. "This is what happens when huge masses enter portals between worlds. It becomes strangely disastrous."
They walk inside by the huge main entry doors as the large main hall greets them with a sense of awe; like a large ballroom are high ceilings like never before which they seemingly touch the sky with decorated columns on each side holding the floors above. A fountain is the notable feature which is at the middle of the hall and behind it is a grand staircase. The second floor which long hallways on each side show large portraits and paintings of the royalty.
"Amazing! I never thought that this were one of your hideouts!" Eric says as the echoes bounce back across the space.
"After Queen Weira died, this large lodging house was left abandoned." Grantaire explains. "Soon, the poor trespassers enter here and find a place to live in here and after years of staying, it became their home. The late Lt. Gavro took charge in maintaining this place and welcomes anyone who needs shelter."
Nigel knocks on the thick walls of the rest house as he examines its strength "Yet I don't understand how such a building could fit in such small space. I mean this height could even reach the above the ground!"
"It could possibly mean one thing." Grantaire explains as they walk up the stairs and gaze the paintings along the hallways. "I believe the portals are somehow active and are not closed entirely which the Guardians have done. If this pair of portals was closed then this building should have been crushed within the supposed space. But it since it did not, there seems to be a functioning connection between the traversing portals, and this building is proof that it lives between that 'link'."
"Flames! Hold it I don't get it." Nigel stops him. "I know it's not all scientific! But really I don't get it."
"I guess what he was trying to explain Nigel is that we're now inside the connection between the portals of Earth and Meridian, but somehow not transporting in some way to the other side of the universe. Am I right?" Eric asks to Grantaire for his correction.
"That's right." Grantaire replies. "We maybe actually return this back up to Meridian, but it'll cause a lot of magic and another earthquake."
"Grantaire, I actually brought you here not to show you that this building exists and alive, but I want your permission as well." Eric sternly says. "Remember how we need more space for the rebels?"
